An arrest has been made in the Palisades Fire investigation, multiple law enforcement sources tell NBC News.
A formal announcement was expected to be made by the United States Attorney Wednesday morning.
The name of the person in custody and the nature of the criminal charge or charges was closely held, and the sources could not immediately confirm whether the case being announced was focused on a young man — who was previously the subject of the fire investigation earlier this year.
The Palisades Fire began on Jan. 7 in the Palisades Highlands, where a week earlier, a relatively small brush fire burned after neighbors said fireworks had been set off to celebrate the new year.
The Los Angeles City Fire Department declined to share records or information about the cause of the New Year’s fire, but officials and the sources said earlier this year ATF agents and local fire investigators were considering whether embers from the New Year’s fire could have reignited in the intense winds Jan. 7.
If true, it could mean the person who set off the fireworks could be responsible for the ignition the Palisades Fire.
The sources said this young man had access to a specific area in the Palisades Highlands on New Year’s and was suspected of lighting some of the fireworks.
The sources said the young man was placed under intensive law enforcement surveillance earlier this year.
At one point, he was stopped and questioned by agents and detectives, but he was allowed to leave, the sources said.
The ATF staged several controlled burns near the point of origin to test the detection of smoke and flames by wilderness cameras and other remote sensors, officials said.
ATF experts had also been working to evaluate the possibility that embers or material not fully extinguished from the New Year’s fire could have reignited a week later. The findings from those tests have not previously been made public.
Source: NBC Los Angeles